A Hero's Secret

eighteen

..

"We're going to visit Aunt Belle."

Dray froze. She sat at her breakfast bar, elbows on the counter, and a mouth full of cereal. "Okay, why?" She said and continued eating.

Wells leaned over the counter and stopped just a few inches from her face. "Why else would we got to Lockton, walk around downtown at night, and hang around an old library?"

She wrinkled her nose and finished chewing. "Oh yeah, that."

Last night, they took some time to plan out their next move. They were stuck without those photos, only having opinionated documents written by his cousin as evidence. The photos in the chest were the next step and Wells pushed the not so brilliant plan of stealing them. Their investigation was about to become the real deal with no chance of going back.

Dray shook her head. "I still don't know about the plan." Her spoon clanked in the nearly empty cereal bowl. "The window might not even be open."

Wells took the sound as a sign to finish breakfast. He scooped up the bowl and downed the cereal in two large bites. "I called her," he said, wiping his mouth and setting down the dish. "She's making us dinner. Can't turn that down."

Dray took a deep breath, ragged and loud, and brought the dirty dishes to the sink, washing them right away. She felt arms slink around her shoulders.

"Last chance," he mumbled into her hair. "You can back out. You don't have to do this with me."

She held on to his arms across her chest, relaxing, and closed her eyes. "I'm doing this with you." She spoke without a second thought.

He tightened his grip for a few seconds and let go. "Make sure you bring your big purse," he said in her ear and walked backwards out of the kitchen.

She rolled her eyes and dried her hands on a towel. "So, what do we do before then?" She threw the towel in the sink and followed him into the living area.

Wells sprawled out on the couch. He smirked. "I could think of a few things."

Dray laughed. Each new angle of his personality surprised her every time and she loved it. She snuggled in front of him and grabbed the remote off of the table.

"Crime movie?" She peeked over her shoulder.

"Crime movie," he said and pulled her in closer.

#

Two movies and a few bowls of junk food later, the duo hopped on Wells' bike with an enormous purse plopped between them. Aunt Belle lived a couple blocks north of downtown, so the drive didn't take much longer than usual.

Aunt Belle's door opened before they even made it up the porch stairs. Her arms spread wide and she gave hugs to both, welcoming them inside. The smell of a home cooked meal lofted through the air and a soft light filled the rooms, accompanied with assorted candles lit on almost every table.

Wells immediately noticed the lack of noise inside. "Where's Uncle Grove?" He turned to his aunt.

She touched his arm with a sad smile. "Florida."

"Aunt Belle," he said and took her hand in his.

"It's just a break, Wells. Don't worry about it." She patted his arm. The two smiled at each other and the soft moment passed just as quick as it came. "Well, sit, sit!" She pushed him towards the dining room table.

It was full of food and set for three.

Dray grinned at the sight, but wasn't sure how just the three of them could finish it all. She shrugged a little. On second thought, it could happen.

Once they settled in with heaping mounds of food and full glasses of wine, Aunt Belle clasped her hands together. "So," she said, "how long have you been dating?"

Dray, who had been mid sip, choked on her wine.

"Oh," she mused, "you haven't made it official yet, have you?" She grinned and looked between them. "It's okay. I can wait with the questions. So Dray, how are you adjusting to Hero?"

Wells chuckled at his aunt who was able to catch Dray off guard quite easily and to the point of no witty response—something that didn't happen all that often.

Dray's mouth hung open slightly. She found herself nodding and added words to her actions in haste. "I like it, a lot."

"I'm sure you do." Aunt Belle raised her eyebrows.

Her face flushed as she snuck a glance at Wells, narrowing her eyes. A little warning would have been nice.

He laughed and dug into his meal. His casual attitude settled things down and lifted the awkward, but light tension from the room and soon the three were deep in their meals and in conversation.

"Aunt Belle," Wells wiped his mouth with a napkin, "I took a visit to Ivory's place the other day and saw a picture of Uncle Grove with my dad and the sheriff. I didn't realize they were all friends."

She nodded and set down her fork. "Once in a while when your father would come to visit, we would have dinner here and then the boys would go meet Tieg for drinks, though back then he was just a young officer. Occasionally, his brother would also be there, if he wasn't getting into trouble. Tieg was a good influence on him..." Aunt Belle waved her hand after a moment of hesitation. "Anyway, your uncle always said it was nice to catch up."

Wells face fell into a scowl.

"What seems to be bothering you?" Aunt Belle rested her chin on her hands.

"Dad never seemed to like the police, that's all," he said. "It's weird to think he was friends with anyone in the station."

She shrugged. "Well, it was more your uncle's idea. Grove became somewhat of a mentor to Tieg, at least until he became the sheriff." Aunt Belle stared at her meal and shook her head before resuming her polite demeanor. "It wouldn't surprise me if your father didn't like Tieg. They did butt heads."

Wells' shoulders relaxed after hearing the disconnect between his father and the sheriff.

Dray smiled at him. His aunt's story was a simple reassurance, but something nipped at the back of Dray's mind; however, the ease with what Aunt Belle spoke ushered the conversation into one filled with light-hearted small talk and humor.

She was quite the host, Aunt Belle, completely opposite of her nephew, and Dray felt at home. It had been awhile since she had been welcomed into someone's home, let alone feel so comfortable once inside.

After dinner, they stood to clear the table, but Wells slung an arm around Dray's shoulders. "I think I'll take Dray downtown for a walk. Is it all right if I leave my bike here?"

"Of course. You two go. I'll clean up here," Aunt Belle said with a smile.

Dray slid out of his hold and set her plate down in the sink. "Oh no," she said, "we can help, Belle."

Belle shooed her away. "Sweetie, go have a good night and I mean good." She winked and pushed them out of the kitchen. "Bye now!"

Wells led the way to the door, practically dragging Dray along. She felt the need to clean up, but Bell's enthusiasm sure helped her forget. Outside, Wells tugged her into his side, securing his arm back around her shoulders.

She relaxed. This was better than cleaning.

..

[EDITED OCTOBER 9, 2021]

A couple of shorties until shit starts to hit the fan! We are over halfway done with this book. Thank you for sticking with it!